---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- LICENSE PROCEDURE FOR SOCIAL WORKERS (Mandates that an applicant for a license as a licensed clinical social worker not be required to take or pass a standardized written examination in order to qualify for the license.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- LICENSE PROCEDURE FOR SOCIAL WORKERS (Mandates that an applicant for a license as a licensed clinical social worker not be required to take or pass a standardized written examination in order to qualify for the license.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2022"
identifier: "HB 7396"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 7396 (2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ajello", "Caldwell", "Cassar", "Fogarty", "Hull", "Shallcross Smith"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 12
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2022-02-09"
last_action: "2022-06-30"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/dab0d2fe-8d7f-4666-9066-104d1194d62d"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "0913c3d9eaaed751ee7830aec758463050bb15309330c4165afe53dc68790432"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ri"]
---

# Rhode Island HB 7396 (2022) — AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- LICENSE PROCEDURE FOR SOCIAL WORKERS (Mandates that an applicant for a license as a licensed clinical social worker not be required to take or pass a standardized written examination in order to qualify for the license.)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **7396 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText22/HouseText22/H7396A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **71–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Ajello — primary (person)
- Caldwell — primary (person)
- Cassar — primary (person)
- Fogarty — primary (person)
- Hull — primary (person)
- Shallcross Smith — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2022-02-09** 02/09/2022 Introduced, referred to House Health & Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2022-02-24** 02/24/2022 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/03/2022)
- **2022-03-03** 03/03/2022 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2022-06-20** 06/20/2022 Scheduled for consideration (06/22/2022)
- **2022-06-21** 06/21/2022 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2022-06-22** 06/22/2022 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2022-06-22** 06/22/2022 Placed on House Calendar (06/23/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-06-23** 06/23/2022 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2022-06-23** 06/23/2022 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/23/2022) `reading-3`
- **2022-06-24** 06/24/2022 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2022-06-24** 06/24/2022 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2022-06-30** 06/30/2022 Signed by Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/dab0d2fe-8d7f-4666-9066-104d1194d62d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).